Rubber Wheels
by Abigail Fond
Summary: AerrowxPiper AU - They always took life together in the highway fast lanes. Now she felt like she was heading for the exit ramp. REVISED


Hola :) This is Abysilityy coming in for the first time in the Storm Hawks community! And woot, it feels good because I've wanted to post a SH fic for a while, but the plots never seemed good enough. (_I've got a million ideas floating around in my comps. book!_) But this, was one I really liked and had used for my English Creative Writing project a couple months back :P I apologize now if I miss some tiny grammatical errors :P I got a decent mark on it so be nice! Alright, enjoy!

**Rubber Wheels  
**_by: Abysilityy_

* * *

Inhale.

Exhale.

Her breath shuddered, and a hiccup erupted from her throat...

......

...

..

_A whole-hearted laugh._

_A quick whooping cheer._

_And a squeal of delight._

"_Oh! I'm so happy for you, Aerrow!" Piper flung her arms around the tall boy as he enveloped her in warm hug. _

"_Geez, finally dude! I was wondering when you get it done and over with!" Finn said, coming up behind Aerrow to slap his back. Aerrow laughed then raised an eyebrow. _

"_This coming from the guy who had to retake the test 5 times?"_

_Finn only scoffed and gave a grin. "Hey, no one else in the town __or__ the province has the same skills as you. You totally destroy the run with your reckless turns and moves, and you __still__ pass!" _

_Piper let go and gave him a serious face._

"_Finn's right. You __did__ destroy the run for the test! What if you had gotten hurt, or didn't have such a compromising evaluator? You know what I always say!"_

"_Yah we know…'Always have a plan. You gotta be prepared for anything! I always come up with the perfect plan.'" Both boys laughed after repeating the same sentence together. Piper only glared in happy annoyance. Nothing but their teasing would bring her frustration today. It was his Aerrow's big day; the day he dreamed of since they were little kids when could finally ride his motorcycle with a certified license – anywhere, anytime, for as long as he wanted. _

_Piper leaned up and kissed her best friend – next-door neighbour – and – eight-month boyfriend on the cheek. Absentmindedly, she drifted out of the boy's conversation, swimming in the pool of memories when she, Aerrow and Finn were all little children running around, laughing and telling each other about everything that they wanted to do. Though Aerrow didn't know that much about the mechanics of a motorcycle, she knew he loved to take it apart and put it back together then ride the way he said he always wanted to – fast and furious. His analogy never ceased to make her roll her eyes._

_She came back to reality when Finn announced that he was heading home for the night. The two had been over at Aerrow's house in his garage, leaning over his aqua blue motorcycle with red streaks to accent his ferociously bright, wild, red hair._

_Looking from Finn to Piper with his green eyes, Aerrow's proud smirk melted into a loving smile. _

_Wrapping an arm around her waist he said "Let's go to the hills. You and me right now. I want to celebrate just with you." _

_Piper looked ahead for a second to think before a small grin cracked on her face._

"_Okay!"_

_Quickly before there was argue or interruption, Aerrow hopped on his motorcycle as Piper swung her legs over the seat. Before she was even comfortable or even had a good grip around his waist, he had the ignition on, the handles revved and they were speeding down the gravel road._

_Piper gripped tightly. Back when he had only gotten his permit, they secretly snuck out during the night on his motorcycle to ride out to the hills. Being as a young as he was and not having a legal right to drive the motorcycle yet, Aerrow drove the motorcycle slowly and cautiously so as to not get them into trouble and noticed by their neighbours. They avoided helmets because they knew they were riding at a good enough speed not to kill themselves. Now that he obtained his license, speeding down the road, the way he wanted it, was how they rode into the night. _

_After spending about an hour just lying in the grass and talking about random junk. Piper decided that they head back before the clouds rolled in to block their light from the stars. Living in the countryside, you see more visible stars and don't rely on a lot of street lamps to see the road. She turned her head from the night sky to stare at him before voicing her opinion. The sight of him so relaxed left her considerably breathless. _

_"We should head back."_

_He nodded and planted a gentle kiss to the top of her forehead before heading over the motorcycle. Before sitting on it, he bent over the back to inspect a view things... he always did, even when there wasn't anything wrong with it. Suddenly, Piper noticed as he quickly propped his arm into the back carrying compartment, jerking it around fervently, a frantic look gracing his features. _

_Not answering her question, he bent over deeper and began mumbling incoherent things. Piper widened her eyes worriedly and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder._

_The touch caused Aerrow to quickly look back up at her, his green eyes flicking over the graceful features of her face._

_"Aerrow, what's wrong?"_

_Sending his gaze quickly back to the spot of his desire, he returned to his proper straight posture and faced her. He gave Piper a crooked grin._

_"Uh, let's not head back yet."_

_Hearing his immediate response, Piper raised a slender dark eyebrow. _

_"Wha-Why? Is something wrong?"_

_Chuckling lightly, Aerrow moved over to his girlfriend's side and threw an arm over her shoulder._

_"No, of course not. I just think we need a little more quality time together."_

_Giggling, Piper lifted his arm off her and leaned into his face, peering at his features in the moonlight. Each one a familiar note she graved into her heart._

_"We've already had a nice time out, and it's getting late."_

_As she watched his face, she noticed the mischievous spark in his green eyes and the smirk that formed._

_"It isn't too late for the type of quality time I'm talking about."_

_Rolling her eyes, she placed a hand on her hip and gave a smirk of her own._

_"As much as I desperately want to get swept up in a heated moment, it's dark, Aerrow. Let's just get home now."_

_Aerrow pulled back a little from their closeness and flitted his eyes over the motorcycle again._

_"But.. uh, I don't want to leave yet."_

_Sighing, Piper crossed her arms and tilted her head curiously at him. Despite the scowl she was giving him, her eyes were shining with concern._

_"Aerrow, what's with you? Why don't you wanna leave yet?"_

_Not even bothering to answer her question, he jabbed his hand into his jean pocket and started fumbling around. _

_"Do you have your cell on you?"_

_Piper widened her eyes and bit her lip softly. She shook her head._

_"No, I left it back at home."_

_Cursing softly, Aerrow gave up trying to locate his own missing cell and took out his keys, jingling the metallic ornaments between his fingers. Looking around, he noticed for the first time how dark it had gotten since they had arrived. Out here in the rural countryside, nighttime was perpetually darker than it was in the city. Especially for 11 'o' clock. He guessed it was probably about that time already._

_"Never mind then."_

_"What? Don't tell me you were going to call Finn and guys to have a race or something."_

_Looking quickly back to his girlfriend, he noticed she had uncrossed her arms and was tapping the side of her thigh with a finger, rocking on the balls of her feet. He'd done such a thing before._

_"No, of course not."_

_Before Piper could shoot him another argument, a deel howling far across the open fields was heard and the sound of violent car engines in another. Bringing her arms up to hug her body, she made a whining sound in the back of her throat. Aerrow bit his bottom lip. She only ever did that when she was really worried._

_Looking up into the midnight star-studded skies, he sucked in a slow, long breath. Piper wouldn't know it, but he was silently praying. After exhaling he bent his head back down and sighed deeply. Then, lifting his gaze to Piper's carnelian irises he brought his body close to hers and wrapped his arms tenderly around her waist. As he bent his head down again to inhale the flowery scent of her hair and warm-spice fragrance of her skin, he dug his hands deeper into her body, really relishing the breathtaking moment._

_"Alright, I'll stop my whining for you."_

_After bubbling with a giggle, Piper drew in a shaky breath and returned Aerrow's loving gesture with one of her own. With her head a couple inches shorter than his, his chest became her cushion and she nuzzled into it gently._

_"Thank you...", though she was whining the comment, she truly meant it._

_Then pulling away, Aerrow stared down into face so intesnely, Piper couldn't even break a smile. Had he ever looked so soft, and yet so shaken? In hte dark lighting around them, his features almost looked vicious._

_With a sweet kiss that lasted well enough time to be sappy, but at the same time not disturbed, he pulled away reluctantly, letting his fingers linger on her hips for a moment longer. _

_Aerrow hopped on his motorcycle like before but waited this time until Piper had gotten on fully. She had hit him in the arm for not doing so earlier. When he was sure she was on, he leaned down to the side of the motorcycle to pull out the dark blue helmet._

_Piper sat confused as he placed it on her head. They never used helmets since he'd first learnt to ride a motorcycle with her on board. He only winked at her then said: _

"_Gotta make sure you're safe. Always gotta be prepared for anything right?" _

_Piper giggled and said "Of course!"_

_Then they were off again._

_As the ride strode on for about a few minutes (it's the countryside remember? Everything that's like, next door is usually like 20 miles apart), Aerrow called back to Piper over the sound of the motorcycle's engine and the wind rushing through their ears. He tried to get a look at Piper out of the corner of his eyes._

"_Piper, you love me right?"_

_Piper leaned in to get a better view at Aerrow's face, his were red bangs flying crazily over his green eyes. She smiled like a fool._

"_Of course, Aerrow!"_

_Aerrow smiled then turned back around and went back to driving the motorcycle._

_A couple minutes later, Aerrow leaned back over again to look at Piper, calling her again._

"_You sure you love me?"_

"_There's no one else I'd rather be with right now." And he knew she meant every word. So he went back to driving again._

_Some more minutes past and they were coming in closer to the outside boundaries of the town. Aerrow turned to look at her again out of the corner of his eyes again. _

"_Piper?"_

"_Yah?"_

"_Do you really and honestly love me?"  
_

"_Aerrow, where is all of this coming from? You know that I love you with all my heart. No one can tell me, not even you that I don't because I truly do. I love you Aerrow."_

_Through the side-view mirror he could see her face through the helmet; her had a loving grin brightening her whole face and her eyes glittered orange in the glowing moonlight. His heart skipped a beat and a soft smile melted onto his face. _

"_I love you too Piper."_

"_What? Did you say something?" his softspoken words didn't reach her over the roar of the air and engine. And they sat in silence for a bit._

_Suddenly the motorcycle began to jerk a little and the sound of something breaking off was heard loudly in their ears. Piper widened her eyes and leaned in more to Aerrow._

"_Aerrow? What's going on? What's happening?" _

_With another jerk, this time too heavy not to be taken into consideration, the motorcycle began to swerve violently along the gravel path and Aerrow lost control of the motorcycle. _

_Everything after that followed was blurred into slow motion._

_Screeching tires._

_A sudden forward lunge._

_A scream._

_And a blinding light. _

...

...

"_Hey, you guys get over here!" There was a shuffle of feet and Piper suddenly felt surrounded._

"_You sure?" "She's not gonna drift back out of it again, is she?" "No I don't think so." _

_The words seemed endless to her. She just listened with her eyes closed. "I don't think she'd be able to now. She probably knows we're here." "Yah with you here, she'd probably never be able to get to sleep." Then she heard what sounded like someone being whacked on the head. "You talk to her first, Finn." "Yah it'd best."_

_It'd be best? She didn't understand. "I think she's coming to! Okay, I'll call you when we're ready."_

_The shuffle of feet started again and Piper decided it was time. She opened her eyes in a lazy manner, not fully aware of her surroundings and accustomed to her blurred vision. The clear images eventually came into focus – a white room where she was lying on a clean bed of white sheets and Finn, one of her best friends looking over her from with right with his usual silly grin._

"_Took you long enough." _

_Piper shook her head a little in her pillow then stared back up at Finn._

"_How …how long was I…?"_

"_Almost about a whole day now," Finn said looking up at the clock that hung near on the west side of the room. "We were so worried, but you started showing signs of recuperation around the late morning better than--" _

"_Aerrow!" _

_Piper suddenly realized that the red-headed boy wasn't there. He'd usually be the first to make sure she was okay; even when she didn't need have a problem. Memories of the previous night suddenly flushed into her mind. _

_The screeching. Screaming. Dangerous swerves._

_And a blinding light._

_Not even thinking about her condition, Piper quickly sat up and started to shift over to the side of the bed. Finn reacted quickly._

"_Where's Aerrow?! Last night! There was all this--! And the lights! What happened?! Where is he?!" Piper went on as Finn grabbed her arm and pulled her down. She stopped her ranting and started to breathe heavily._

"_Piper! PIPER! You have to calm down!"_

"_Calm down?! Finn, you know me! I can't calm down until I know everything going to be okay! Not until I know what happened to my boyfriend!!" _

_Piper's started to tilt to one side, her body not used to the sudden motion after being immobile for over 24 hours. Finn pressed her down into the hospital bed._

"_Okay okay, I will. But you gotta promise me that you won't say or __do__ anything until I'm finished."_

_Piper instantly froze up. Her mouth went dry and her eyes widened in fear._

"_Okay?"_

_She gulped but no saliva was swallowed. She responded with a hoarse 'yah' in the back of her throat, she voice high and shaky._

"_Right," Finn began to start as he moved over the end of her bed. "well, no one found you guys until a little after midnight. Mary was coming home and saw the wreckage of the motorcycle then called the paramedics in from town. When you find a motorcycle totally trashed, you know someone's in trouble, right? Anyway, the news passed fast and practically everyone was up with the news."_

_Piper sat still._

"_They found you and Aerrow near the edge of a ditch, totally unconscious. Then they brought you back here to Skyrise Gen. Awh Piper, you had cuts and bruises, a broken arm, dislocated shoulder and a deep gash in your side. But they say you'll be fine in two weeks. Four tops."_

_Piper nodded slowly taking it in. She looked down examining her body, while listening to her heart beat monitor on her left side of the bed. Then she raised her head, meeting eyes with her blonde-haired friend._

"…_And Aerrow?"_

_Finn bit his lower lip then look away. Piper's heart beat monitor began to beep a little faster. She waited._

_Then he told her._

_Her heart rate monitor alerted the doctors._

......

...

..

Inhale.

Exhale.

"...I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry, Aerrow..."

Her breath shuddered, and another erupted from her throat.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting like that, just breathing and hiccupping but she knew it had been for a while.

Aerrow always rode life in the faster lanes, she felt like she was now heading for the exit ramp. Without him, time seemed to run slower.

* * *

Hope you liked it! I know, it's a bit cliché even for my standards but the tragic romances have to capture our hearts sometimes right? :) Okay, I look forward to your responses and until then, keep it strong SH fans and curious readers!

(**K**eeping _it_ **s** i **m** p _**l**_ e, just _like_ that.)


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